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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 218 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 218

   Expressing support for the law enforcement officers of the United 
                                States.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 18, 2023

    Mr. Vance (for himself and Mr. Cassidy) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
   Expressing support for the law enforcement officers of the United 
                                States.

Whereas more than 800,000 law enforcement officers in the United States risk 
        their lives daily to serve and protect their communities;
Whereas there are more than 23,000 fallen law enforcement officers honored on 
        the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, dating back 
        to 1786, when the first law enforcement officer in the United States 
        died in the line of duty;
Whereas, during the 2 years preceding the date of adoption of this resolution, 
        more than 800 law enforcement officers died in the United States in the 
        line of duty, the highest number of such deaths over a 2-year period in 
        the history of the United States;
Whereas some politicians and interest groups have responded to the risks faced 
        by law enforcement officers with calls to ``defund'' or even ``abolish'' 
        law enforcement agencies across the United States;
Whereas defunding law enforcement agencies or otherwise demoralizing law 
        enforcement officers will make it more difficult for officers to 
        intervene in dangerous situations and high-risk neighborhoods;
Whereas a law enforcement officer will typically encounter between 400 and 600 
        traumatic events during the career of the officer, compared with 3 or 4 
        traumatic events encountered by the average citizen;
Whereas the unusually high number of traumatic events experienced by law 
        enforcement officers has contributed to a 54 percent higher suicide rate 
        among officers than among individuals in other jobs;
Whereas the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the Department of Justice has 
        confirmed that there is no statistically significant difference between 
        the rates at which major racial and ethnic groups are stopped in police-
        initiated interactions;
Whereas the innovative and dedicated efforts of law enforcement officers have 
        successfully brought down crime rates from historic highs;
Whereas the ``defund and defame the police'' movement that began in 2020 has--

    (1) coincided with a dramatic rise in homicides and other violent 
crimes in cities and towns across the United States; and

    (2) caused the retention and recruitment of sworn law enforcement 
officers to drop to a dangerously low level, with current numbers showing 
fewer law enforcement officers per resident than at any other time during 
the 25-year period preceding the date of adoption of this resolution;

Whereas, in 2020--

    (1) 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted by criminals, 
resulting in 18,633 injuries; and

    (2) the number of arrests made by law enforcement officers throughout 
the United States dropped to 7,630,000, a 24 percent reduction from 2019 
and the fewest number of such arrests in 25 years;

Whereas 72 percent of law enforcement officers surveyed are less willing to stop 
        and question suspicious individuals than they were before 2020;
Whereas the rhetoric associated with the ``defund and defame the police'' 
        movement has created an increasingly dangerous environment for law 
        enforcement officers in which, in 2022 alone, 331 officers were shot, 62 
        of whom were shot fatally; and
Whereas supporting law enforcement officers with the equipment, training, and 
        funding needed to protect communities in the United States from criminal 
        violence has long received overwhelming public support from across the 
        political spectrum: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) highly respects and values the law enforcement officers 
        of the United States and greatly appreciates all that those 
        officers do to protect and serve their communities;
            (2) remembers and honors law enforcement officers who have 
        experienced a death or injury in the line of duty and the 
        families of those officers;
            (3) calls for increased measures to be taken to maximize 
        the safety and well-being of law enforcement officers, 
        including improvements relating to the retention and 
        recruitment of officers, improved training and equipment for 
        officers, tougher penalties for assaulting or killing an 
        officer, and increased mental health resources for officers;
            (4) strongly condemns the misguided and disastrous movement 
        to ``defund and defame the police''; and
            (5) calls on all levels of government to ensure that law 
        enforcement officers receive the support and resources needed 
        to keep all communities in the United States safe.
                                 <all>
```